Chapter 12: VANISHED

***\-DAMIAN-***

Slowly and deliberately, I untied the ropes, every touch perceptible, the skin slightly reddened and sensitive from the touches we had shared. Celine let her body sink into my arms, exhausted, but with an expression of complete surrender on her face. There was a soft glimmer in her eyes, an expression of contentment that seemed to come from deep within her. I gently lifted her chin and looked into those eyes that still glowed, caught in the aftermath of our moment.

“Hey, angel,” I whispered close to her ear, the words soft yet accompanied by an urgent undertone that was meant to linger. “Are you all right? Does something hurt?” I couldn’t quite banish the concern from my voice, even though I knew it had led us both to this limit. There was a fleeting moment of silence between us, filled only by her slowed breathing.

Her lips formed a smile, tired, contented and gentle. “No... it was beautiful, Damian,” she murmured, as if the whisper of her voice still held the experience, every word saturated with emotion.

A smile also spread across my lips, a hint of pride mixed with a feeling I couldn’t put my finger on. ‘Yes... it was,’ I replied, my voice dark, soft, and full of honesty. “You were... breathtaking, Celine.” My hand gently stroked her cheek, as if I wanted to anchor this moment in her so that she could feel it deep inside herself. I knew that she heard my words, that she felt them, but I also knew that this was more than just words.

I let myself sink down next to her, put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me so that I could feel her warmth radiating from her body onto mine. The feel of her skin on mine, the closeness, the way she gave herself to me – it filled me in a way I couldn’t understand myself. She snuggled into my arms, completely trusting, as if this were the safest place she could be. I held her tight, my fingers gently stroking her back as I felt her relax and finally fall asleep.

I could hear the gentle rhythm of her breathing, how it became calmer and deeper until she began to dream in my arms. I felt an overwhelming desire to hold her, to protect her, to keep her from anything that could harm her. This closeness, this intimacy – it felt so real, so precious that it almost hurt. My grip on her tightened as if it could calm something inside me, as if she were the only thing keeping me in balance.

I covered her carefully, gently pulling the sheet over her body, which now lay so peacefully and relaxed. It felt like I was holding the most precious thing in my life in my arms, and for the first time I understood what it meant to possess someone without destroying them.

Lost in thought, I let my gaze linger on her face, how her eyelashes fell slightly over her cheekbones, how relaxed and soft her lips were, still marked by our moment.

Maybe she really was the most precious thing I had ever owned, a thought that surprised and worried me at the same time. Because I knew that I was not made to preserve; I was always the one who destroyed, who took what was due to him, and then moved on. But here, in this moment, I wanted nothing more than to hold on to her, as if I could stop time.

Finally, I was overcome by tiredness, a feeling I hardly knew, but the weight of the moment pulled me down, brought me to rest. My eyes slowly closed, my mind released its last tension, and I slid into the darkness of a deep, contented sleep, while the thought of Celine, of her closeness, of her complete devotion accompanied me like a soft shadow and gave me a sense of contentment that I had not felt in a long time.

The next morning, I woke up with a rare feeling of calm and contentment that had settled in my chest like a soft echo. My eyes blinked against the dim light, and my hand drowsily felt over the mattress to the other side of the bed – but there was nothing there. Cool sheets under my fingers. I sat up, pulled back the blanket, and a small yawn escaped me as I stretched, my muscles still pleasantly exhausted from the previous evening.

“Celine...” I murmured softly, as if she could hear me. Surely she had only gone up to her room to freshen up, I thought. With a final sigh, I swung my legs out of bed, pulled on a T-shirt and stepped into the hallway. The house was quiet – too quiet, like an unnatural calm that weighed heavily on the walls.

I made coffee in the kitchen, the soft bubbling of the machine the only sound to break the eerie silence. But something was wrong. The thought drilled into my consciousness, grew stronger until I went up the stairs and stopped in front of her room. Hesitantly, I raised my hand and knocked, the knock echoing softly in the silent house. But nothing – no answer, no noise.

“Celine?” I called, almost whispering, and opened the door slowly. The room lay quiet and immaculate before me, the bed perfectly made, the pillows neatly in place. It looked as if no one had slept here, as if she had not entered the room at all. A hint of annoyance and concern mingled with my thoughts, and a queasy feeling spread in my chest.

“Shit...” The word escaped my lips, and I turned around, rushing back to my room, where I hastily threw on some pants and my jacket, the car keys in my hand, my heart now beating loudly and restlessly in my chest. My mind tried to sort out the possibilities, consider the places she could retreat to. But the feeling that overcame me was deep and heavy – as if she had vanished into thin air, simply disappeared without leaving a trace.

“Damn it... where are you, Celine?” I whispered hoarsely as I got into the car and started the engine. A cold shiver ran down my spine, but I ignored it, forcing myself to stay focused. The streets were empty at this early hour, and I made the car go faster than I would have otherwise, driving by the few places that came to mind – the small café she liked so much, the benches in the park where she could often sit and read for hours. But there was no sign of her. Not a trace of the smile she always gave me when our eyes met. The emptiness of the places I searched only intensified the feeling that something fundamental was missing.

Despair gnawed at me, became a dark, pressing shadow in my mind as I drove on, my gaze restless, my thoughts incessant. Every place, every street, every shop I passed, everything seemed strange and empty without her presence. The morning silence weighed on me like a heavy curtain, suffocating the light. Part of me wanted to scream.

Suddenly, I stopped, gripping the wheel tightly as I breathed heavily. “Celine...” I whispered again, a whisper in the darkness, as if I could bring her back with this call, as if my voice would draw her out of the shadows. But the silence remained and crept slowly into my mind, growing into an urgent darkness that swallowed up all hope.

The seconds stretched as I sat there, the engine running and my hands tightening around the steering wheel.

A sudden rush of cold panic flooded through me, biting into my thoughts like a predator that would not let go. What if Jax had got hold of her? The thought shot through my consciousness like a dagger, leaving a trail of burning rage. Celine was out there alone, unaware of the shadows gathering in the streets of our city. And Jax... that goddamn son of a bitch was the worst of them all.

I gritted my teeth, a bitter taste creeping up my throat as I realized how much too long I had tolerated this scum in town. Every disturbance, every injured person, everyone who was down – behind all this was his greasy hand. He was a shadow, a virus that had spread like a disease through our city. I should have wiped him out long ago, I knew that. But now... now it was not just about anyone. It was about Celine.

Celine, my stepsister, the only person I had left, the only light in a world I had long since accepted as dark. Jax knew that. Of course he knew – and he would exploit this point without a shred of conscience, because it gave him exactly what he wanted: a lever to blackmail me, to break me.

My fingers clenched into fists, my knuckles turned white as I sat in my car and the rage inside me began to boil. The thought of Celine, alone and defenseless, that twisted bastard, who would only have to reach out a finger to touch her... My mind raced, and I couldn’t think straight anymore. Images flickered in my mind, scenes I couldn’t bear, in which she lay injured, defenseless under him.

“Goddamn son of a bitch,” I spat through gritted teeth, my voice hoarse with rage. ”You lay a hand on her and I swear you’re a dead man, Jax.”

The promise hung in the air, sharp and unmistakable, as if it were carved in stone. No room for doubt. If he so much as looked in her direction, if he made her feel afraid for even a second, I would tear him limb from limb with my bare hands.

I released the steering wheel and breathed heavily as my mind raced. There were only a few places he could hide if he had made the mistake of grabbing her. And I would search them all, every single one, until I found him. Jax had played for long enough, had long enough believed that he was untouchable. But the game was changing now.

I started the car, slammed on the gas until the tires screeched and the darkness of the early hour was torn apart by the bright headlights and the roar of the engine. My heart was beating like a sledgehammer, each pulse beat another promise that I would find Jax and give him the hell on earth he deserved if he dared to come anywhere near Celine.

The city raced past me, but all the buildings, the dark street corners, the faceless passers-by – all that merged into a single dark background, unimportant, meaningless, as long as I didn’t have her with me.

My first stop was the old factory site on the outskirts of town. A perfect place for Jax and his nefarious business, the walls crumbling, the windows shattered. A realm of shadow and decay, just as he liked it. I jumped out of the car, the silence and the harsh crackling of the night-time cold around me like a silent witness to my inner storm. Every crunch under my shoes, every breath I took was a threat I sent into the darkness.

“Jax!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the crumbling walls. Nothing but the echo, the empty specter of my rage reverberating in the silence. I searched the building, room by room, silence and coldness enveloping me like a steel grip. But he wasn’t here – and neither was Celine.

With each futile attempt, I felt my self-control crack further, as the panic and dark whispers of despair inside me grew louder. I couldn’t afford to lose it, not to someone like Jax. The thought of her, of her gentle eyes and the smile that rose like a soft sunshine in my dark world, drove me on.

I hurried back to the car, slammed the door and drove off, my next destination already firmly in my sights: the abandoned house on the riverbank. It was an old, dilapidated building that had once been a hotel, but was now just a rotting shelter for those who, like Jax, lived in the shadows. The streets were deserted, the light from the lanterns cast distorted shadows on the road, and my heart beat faster with every meter I approached.

When I reached the building, I jumped out of the car without even closing the door. My eyes wandered over the broken windows, the warped front door, which creaked in the wind as if to warn me. But I felt no fear, only a cold, unyielding determination.

I kicked the door open, the wood splintering under the impact of my boot, and I stormed inside. “Jax!” My voice resounded through the empty building, hitting the walls and echoing back. “If you’re here, show yourself, you damned coward!”

There was silence.

I searched the rooms, my steps echoing off the walls, while darkness settled over me like a heavy blanket. Every breath was a mixture of hope and fear, every step another advance into the unknown. I yanked open doors, searched empty rooms. No sign of him. No sign of her.

“Damn it!” I shouted, the anger turning into a desperate energy that I could hardly contain. I threw a chair over, crashing to the floor, a poor consolation in the midst of my helplessness. At that moment, I felt like a predator locked in a cage, with no way to escape, no trail to follow.

I leaned against the cold wall, closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. Jax was like a shadow – clever, always one step ahead, always knowing how to exploit the weaknesses of others for his own purposes.

The phone vibrated in my hand, the number anonymous. An icy shiver crept down my spine as I accepted the call.

“Well, Damian,” Jax’s voice sounded smugly and with that disgusting smugness that made my blood freeze in my veins. ”Looks like you’re looking. Nervous, aren’t you?”

“Where is she, you damned piece of filth?” I spat out the words, each syllable a spark of the rage that raged within me. ”If you’ve harmed a hair on her head, I swear on everything that’s sacred to me – I’ll tear you to pieces!”

Jax laughed softly, a throaty, derogatory laugh that made my blood boil. “Always so melodramatic, Damian. But don’t worry, she’s... let’s say, in good hands. At least for now.” He let the words sink in slowly, as if he enjoyed the tension. “However, I wonder how long you can really protect her. The rules have changed, buddy. You’ve been dancing on my nose for too long.”

“Breathe in her direction, Jax,” I growled, my voice condensed into a sinister whisper, ”and it’ll be your last breath. I’m not making any empty promises – I’ll hunt you to the ends of hell and back.”

A mocking snort at the other end. “Oh, I’m shaking already, Damian. Honestly, I’m looking forward to pulling your strings a little. It almost makes me nostalgic to see how weak you really are.” His voice took on a dangerous undertone. “And Celine? She’s just... lovely. It’s questionable how long she’ll stay that way.”

“You miserable son of a bitch!” I could hardly control the twitching in my hands anymore, feeling the urge to smash something, anything. ”If you even touch her – I’ll find you, Jax, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born. Do you understand me? This isn’t a threat. This is your death sentence.”

“So, so,” he said, the smile in his voice as unmistakable as the icy blade that pierced my chest. ”Tough guy, aren’t you? Then prove it. Let’s have some fun. I’ll leave you a little trail. Maybe you’ll find it. Maybe you won’t.”

With a sharp click, he hung up. The silence that followed was like a vacuum that squeezed the air out of my lungs while the world around me stood still. But the rage that now burned inside me was not quiet. It was a raging storm, a tidal wave that would leave no stone unturned until I had Celine back and Jax was lying on the ground, every trace of that smile wiped from his face.

“You want a devil? Then you’ve found him, Jax.”